La. health dept. prepares for health care overhaul

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BATON ROUGE - Even as Louisiana fights the federal health care overhaul law in court, state officials are quietly putting in place the building blocks to enact its provisions, if they are upheld.

Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal has called the new law an improper expansion of federal government. But while Jindal complains and the state sues, Jindal's health secretary is hiring staff and developing plans to meet the law's requirements.

It's not that Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein is arguing the transition would be easy. In fact, he's worried about the implications of expanding the state's Medicaid program by 500,000 people in only a few years to comply with the law.

But Greenstein says he must prepare for the new federal requirements in case they aren't overturned in court.